The Death Curse

Chapter 4: Locator Spell

"I can't believe he's late," Julia said for the billionth time.

"I know," I replied in a monotone as I watched her pace in front of the door from my bed. She had been doing that on and off for the last half hour, probably hoping to pounce on Rhys the moment he knocked on the door.

"Do you think he's coming?"

I shrugged, "Probably." He was pretty late. He said he was going to be here at ten but it was already ten to eleven. Normally I would have been just as irritated as Julia but her jitteriness had a calming effect on me. "I didn't think to get his phone number so I have no way to contact him. But I have a feeling he'll show up."

Julia stopped pacing and turned to look at me with wide eyes. "Or maybe whoever is after him already got to him."

"I hope not." But it was a possibility. The guy from the night before had made it clear that whoever he worked for wasn't going to let Rhys off easy. Then again, judging by how beat up the guy was, Rhys could hold his own. That had only made Julia more nervous about me working with him.

And poor Kim was so confused by the entire interaction. Somehow Julia and I managed to convince her that it was just a case of mistaken identity, though I wasn't sure she would be interested in going out with me to bars again anytime soon.

Julia was pacing again. I was about to tell her to sit down when a knock came at the door. Julia swung it open and planted herself in the doorway, sizing up the man who stood on the other side.

Rhys stared down at her, startled. "...Hello, Julia."

I could see the muscles in Julia's back tense. "How do you know my name?"

He smiled. "I'm good with names."

"That's creepy."

"Sorry, to hear you think that," he said but the smile didn't move from his face. "Do you mind stepping out of the way so that I can come in?"

Julia didn't move an inch. "I don't trust you. How do we know that you're actually going to help and not rip us off?"

I started to get up to save Rhys from Julia but his eyes met mine and he gave a slight shake of his head.

Turning his attention back Julia, he dropped his grin. Smart plan. "Look, I'm here to help. I'm not even charging any money up front and if it doesn't work out you don't have to give me anything."

Julia crossed her arms over her chest. "And what about your debt collectors? What happens when they come around again?"

"You don't have to worry about them. I've made it clear that it's against their interest to interfere with my business." He held his hand over his heart. "I swear I won't let any harm come to either of you. Well, death curses aside."

After a few moments, Julia finally took a step back from the doorway, allowing Rhys to enter the apartment. Without Julia blocking my view, I could see that he was carrying a duffel bag and was still dressed in the same black shirt he had worn yesterday, now rumpled, and his chin was more scruffy. His hair stuck out at odd angles and his eyes were underscored with dark circles. Even so, he looked handsome and I felt a little spike of adrenaline as he walked over to me, which I tried to ignore. Everything I saw so far told me he was not boyfriend material.

I stood as he approached. "What happened to you?"

"A busy night. And morning." His lips curled up in a charming smile. "You, on the other hand, look lovely this morning, Layla."

I rolled my eyes.

"I'm sorry about being late. There were some matters I had to attend to and it took longer than I thought to gather supplies."